


Anniversary

by Thysanotus



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Order of the Phoenix - Freeform, Wizarding Wars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-12-28
Updated: 2005-12-28
Packaged: 2018-10-27 07:37:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10804743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thysanotus/pseuds/Thysanotus
Summary: Set post OotP...Remus remembers





	Anniversary

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Annie, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Quidditch Pitch](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Quidditch_Pitch), which went offline in 2015 when the hosting expired, at a time I was not able to renew it. I contacted Open Doors, hoping to preserve the archive using an old backup, and began importing these works as an Open Doors-approved project in April 2017. Open Doors e-mailed all authors about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Quidditch Pitch collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thequidditchpitch/profile).

  
Author's notes: Set post OotP. This fic was written back in, I think, June? I’m not sure that I like it anymore, actually. Sorry Shelley (aka [](http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=sosnaz)[](http://www.livejournal.com/users/sosnaz/)**sosnaz** ), as this fic was written for you.  


* * *

_Don’t change, don’t come around here  
wearing my heart on your sleeve like a highschool letter_  
-“Busted” Matchbox 20  
  
Remus paced anxiously. Sirius had left in the early morning, before the sun had risen. The day had still been black when he’d left the nest of blankets, and now Remus feared it had been an ominous warning.  
  
The sun was low in the sky, and Remus had worn a track in the dirt in front of the cave before he heard the sound of wings.  
  
“How could you do that, Sirius?” Remus yelled at Sirius, circling high above him on Buckbeak. “How could you go off and leave me here? No note, you could have been killed!”  
  
Sirius laughed, brushing aside Remus’s complaints as easily as he did the lock of hair falling in Remus’s eyes. He leapt to the ground and led Buckbeak off to the rudimentary shelter they’d built, sweating together in the heat of summer.  
  
“You sound more and more like Molly everyday,” he called back over his shoulder. Remus felt his face flush. Sirius always teased him about worrying too much. Had done ever since they were at school together. The trouble was, he thought, he dwelt too much upon all the possible consequences of each action. If only Sirius had that problem. He was just too impulsive.  
  
Remus retreated back into the cave, to the warmth of the blanket nest. The cave was small, and chilly. There was a small spring at the back, and lichen. He shuddered. Lichen, lichen everywhere. Where there wasn’t lichen, there was moss. He was heartily sick of the taste of both, but due to Sirius’ status as a wanted criminal, and his own uncertain background, they were forced to survive on whatever they could find.  
  
The cave darkened for a second, as Sirius bent his head to enter. He had fleshed out a little – although not noticeably so – since his escape from Azkaban. His hair was lank and long, and his eyes deep and dark. Remus remembered how his friend had been desired by all during their school years, and felt a stabbing pain at the sight of him now.  
  
Remus picked up his wand. Bone weary as he was, this was a special day, and come hell or high water, anger and frustration, he was going to treat it as such.  
  
“ _Caldori, bubolos, spinitefra,_ ” and with those words, and a swish and flick of his wand, the spring at the back of the cave became heated, with small trails of bubbles on the surface betraying the presence of jets underneath. Small purple flowers floated on top of the water.  
  
Sirius paused, amazed. “Remus. It’s …beautiful.”  
  
Remus blushed shyly. “It’s not quite finished.” With another muttered incantation and wand wave, small waxy tealights appeared in the rocky surrounds of the pool, giving a mystical flickering light to the entire cave. He moved to the pool, and dipped his hand in the warm water. Reaching out, he touched Sirius lightly on the chest.  
  
“Oh dear. We’d better get you out of those wet clothes,” he said mischievously.  
  
Sirius paused, mouth agape. “Did you just steal James’s pickup line? Because it was terrible when he used it, and even worse now. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t think it’s a good idea.”  
  
They stripped rapidly, flesh goosepimpling in the chilly air.  
  
Sirius stepped into the pool first, hissing as the water caressed his bruises and cuts. His eyes opened and he saw Remus. His gaze drifted over the scars the other man was so ashamed of as he saw what lay underneath. Remus did not have a muscled body; he was slight and bookish. But he carried no extra fat, and his skin looked as smooth as a whisper. Sirius ached to run his tongue along the spoon of bone from neck to shoulder, to map every inch of the other man with his fingertips, to know where his smell diverged from his body.  
  
Remus turned and saw Sirius watching him. He grinned and slid into the pool.  
  
“So,” Sirius began languidly. “What brought this on?” He quirked an eyebrow as Remus felt his spirit sink. He’d forgotten. Sirius had forgotten what this day was.  
  
“Oh, nothing special,” Remus said lightly. “Just the day we started Hogwarts, the day we first met.” He met Sirius’s eyes and smiled slowly.  
  
Sirius laughed. “Of course I knew that. I just wanted to stir you up a little.” He moved to the edge of the pool, grabbing for something in his pants pocket. “Here. I got you something.” He shrugged. “It was the reason I left this morning. You’ve been so sad the last few days. I wanted to remind you of happier times.”  
  
Remus opened the tiny package. Out spilled a small package of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, a crumpled, dog-eared photograph, and a Chocolate Frog. He set the confectionary aside, and looked at the photograph. The tiny figures of himself and Sirius waved enthusiastically, before returning to their passionate kiss in the gondola.  
  
“I remember that,” he said slowly, tapping the picture. “It was that ridiculous trip you and James insisted we all take after seventh year. James had Lily, and we had each other, and Peter sulked the whole trip because he had no-one to share it with.”  
  
Sirius smiled, and took the photo from Remus’s hands. He propped it against a rock on the edge of the pool and gazed at the figures within. Remus started, and began hunting for something among his clothes.  
  
“I nearly forgot. I have something for you, too. Not that I left to get it for you,” he said, his tone mildly reproving.  
  
Remus handed Sirius a small flower. Sirius turned it over gently, twirling it between his fingers. “It’s beautiful, Remus.”  
  
“I charmed it. It will never fade, never die. Pansies are called heartsease too, you know. That’s something you’ve always been for me, Sirius, my heart’s ease.” Remus blushed, embarrassed, and looked away.  
  
Sirius set the pansy next to the photograph. He slipped his arms around Remus’s waist, and pulled the other man closer.  
  
“Remus. I love you. I always have, and I always will.”  
  
Remus stretched up and kissed the other man’s mouth. Moving down, he kissed and nibbled his way along Sirius’ neck. Sirius pressed kisses into Remus’s hair in turn.  
  
He could smell Sirius’ wild, windy freshness. His mate had never been one to be tamed and controlled. He bit down lightly on one nipple, tracing fingertips along wet thighs.  
  
Taking a deep breath, he made his way below the surface of the water.  
  
-//-  
  
The two men awoke in the dim morning freshness.  
  
“Sirius. I – please. Just be careful, for Merlin’s sake,” Remus said, his voice breaking at the last.  
  
Sirius waved a farewell as Remus left.  
  
-//-  
  
Remus struggled to hold that image in his mind. Now Sirius was gone, and he would feel hollow forever. There was no solace left in the world for him now. Nothing left to ease his heart, to smooth the wild and wicked paths he trod.  
  
Sirius was gone, and the world was dimmer and darker than it had ever seemed before.  
He dropped his face to his hands, and his shoulders shook almost imperceptibly as a tattered photograph drifted to the floor


End file.
